BEIJING, China --- Graduated University of Portland runner Derek Mandell capped a thrilling experience at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by running a personal best in his 800 meter heat. Mandell, the lone track representative from his native Guam, covered the 800 meters in 1 minute and 57.48 seconds.
"I had seen all my splits and they were exactly where I wanted them to be but still, it was the hardest race I ever ran in my life," Mandell told GuamPDN.com following the heat. "I wanted to go faster, but you can never go wrong with a PB. It was crazy. I didn't realize that I was actually running the race until I started feeling it in my arms the last 200 meters. It felt like a dream the whole time I was running it.”
Mandell, who says he’d like to complete at the 2012 Olympics in London, shaved two seconds off his previous best to finish eighth in his heat. The top two runners in each heat automatically advance.
“The whole UP community couldn't be happier for Derek,” UP head cross country coach Rob Conner said. “How many people can say they set a personal record at the Olympics? It is just amazing.”
Mandell has been one of the top distance runners in Guam history and put his name on the international map by winning four Gold Medals at the 2006 Micronesian Games. He won the 10,000-meter, 5,000-meter, 1,500-meter and 800-meter runs. The four medals topped all performers at the event which is held every four years and features athletes from Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas.
